I remain unconvinced - if the accompanying pic is anything to go by, the North Koreans have run out of cash for any weapons at all EDIT: Aww they changed the bloody article now... It was originally the massed ranks of the NK Army all shaking their fists...

Speaking as an expat living in Korea, I'm not massively worried. Where I live is sufficiently close to the DMZ that if the north try dropping a bomb on us, they'll get hit too.

Still, it's annoying: I was going on a DMZ tour this weekend.

if you ever do go on a DMZ tour, and are allowed to take them i'd love to see some pics!

i really hope this situation doesnt escalate any further, it'd be unwise for North Korea to do see, unless Russia are still prepared to back them, but it would of course be better if it never got to that kind of situation.

Does anyone know the Political situation with this if it does kick off into War, will China deffo side with the North? Also will the UK have to join sides with the South alongside the Americans or will we just sit it out do you think? Cause I don' t really fancy fighting the Chinese

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It's true that there have been spats across the DMZ on and off for decades, but this is the biggest since the ceasefire was called in the early 1950s. It does all point towards the North and South willy-waving at each other, but with new military types in the North wanting to show strength in front of Kim Jong-un, it was sadly all too easy to escalate. Then again, the South do so love to have constant military and naval exercises right along the border, so nobody is especially blameless here.

Politically, it's a bit sticky and a lot less clear since the "previous" war (previous in inverted commas, as no truce has ever been signed and ratified) - China and Russia keep North Korea nicely supplied with arms and training, but would be very reluctant to actively involve themselves in another conflict as they are now far too reliant on trade with the Korean Republic's Western allies to want to risk losing all that money. The South currently has some 30,000 US troops in and around the country as has been the case for a long time, but chances are if it does kick off they would be there as support and protection for the civilian population rather than frontline flighting. I'd imagine the UK's involvement to be no different than it is already, as part of the UN peacekeeping force. Japan has shown support for the South this week, but with no standing army of its own due to its post-war constitution, this is just symbolic.

So famine + space monkeys + nuclear bombs, clearly means that North Korea is to unleash a giant mutated monkey on the DMZ.

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"I put no stock in religion. By the word 'religion', I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called 'The Will of God'. Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves."

Eddie: "Weve been burgaled" Richie: You may have been, but I have never in my life. As a christian I am so tightly clenched, oh you mean burgaled - - - There were originally five horsemen of the apocalypse. Jack Bauer said he would travel by foot

Read an article in New Scientist a few months back about a scientist who was invited over with other specialists. He detailed the secrecy and control of the authorities, and how limited he was able to "see" North Korea, but essentially the country is a barren wasteland, and they were invited over as part of a development program to try restore the country.

A few years ago I was listening to a travel show on Irish radio, the host said that Lonely Planet or some tourist related group were brought over fro some kind of show case so they could see all that North Korea had to offer, he reckoned that on the road side there were random people barbequing massive steaks so the Westerners could see how bountiful the country was. Bizarre place, it would be hilarious if it weren't so tragic for the people living there.

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Eddie: "Weve been burgaled" Richie: You may have been, but I have never in my life. As a christian I am so tightly clenched, oh you mean burgaled - - - There were originally five horsemen of the apocalypse. Jack Bauer said he would travel by foot